Archinect - News2017-08-17T23:16:13-04:00http://archinect.com/news/article/150019339/the-privatization-of-public-space-in-london-investigated-by-the-guardian
The privatization of public space in London, investigated by the Guardian Anastasia Tokmakova2017-07-26T04:30:00-04:00>2017-07-25T15:33:08-04:00
<img src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/3i/3iakjpork81s0ngv.jpg" width="650" height="390" border="0" title="" alt="" /><em><p>Pseudo-public spaces &ndash; large squares, parks and thoroughfares that appear to be public but are actually owned and controlled by developers and their private backers &ndash; are on the rise in London and many other British cities, as local authorities argue they cannot afford to create or maintain such spaces themselves.</p></em><br /><br /><p>The abundance of pseudo-public spaces, namely outdoor, open and publicly accessible locations owned and maintained by private companies in London&nbsp;is alarming. To this day it's largely unclear what regulations people passing through privately-owned 'public' land are subject to, and where members of the public can view those regulations.</p>
<p>The Guardian conducted an investigation, contacting landowners of more than 50 major pseudo-public spaces in London,&nbsp;asking an identical set of questions: what restrictions are in place covering users of your land, how are these enforced, where can members of the public see a list of these restrictions, and what conditions are there in the relevant planning agreements regarding public access to your land? Also inquiring whether a series of public activities &ndash; including peaceful political protest, non-commercial photography, non-commercial artistic performances and rough sleeping &ndash; would be permitted on their site, the Guardian received responses from ...</p>
http://archinect.com/news/article/149956686/uniting-the-idea-of-public-art-and-private-space
Uniting the idea of public art and private space Nam Henderson2016-07-08T00:48:00-04:00>2016-07-08T00:48:23-04:00
<img src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/cz/cz7jnllc5u6qduss.jpg" width="427" height="534" border="0" title="" alt="" /><em><p>The phenomenon is propelled largely by the same factors that are making it more difficult for artists themselves to live and work in the city: a concentration of global wealth with its eyes trained on real estate and luxury developers trying to stand out to attract a piece of that wealth.</p></em><br /><br /><p>Randy Kennedy tours some of the most recent examples of luxury commercial and residential architecture in Manhattan that incorporate "public" artworks.</p>
http://archinect.com/news/article/149954705/alphabet-s-secret-plan-to-overhaul-public-transport-in-the-us
Alphabet's secret plan to overhaul public transport in the US Nicholas Korody2016-06-28T20:07:00-04:00>2016-07-02T21:27:27-04:00
<img src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/u0/u0tuldjs4kgl7w8j.jpg" width="620" height="372" border="0" title="" alt="" /><em><p>Sidewalk Labs, a secretive subsidiary of Alphabet, wants to radically overhaul public parking and transportation in American cities, emails and documents obtained by the Guardian reveal.
Its high-tech services, which it calls &ldquo;new superpowers to extend access and mobility&rdquo;, could make it easier to drive and park in cities and create hybrid public/private transit options that rely heavily on ride-share services such as Uber.</p></em><br /><br /><p><em>"But they might also gut traditional bus services and require cities to invest heavily in Google&rsquo;s own technologies, experts fear."</em></p><p>In related news:</p><ul><li><a href="http://archinect.com/news/article/149938711/google-s-sidewalk-labs-contemplates-building-an-entire-city" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google's Sidewalk Labs contemplates building an entire city</a></li><li><a href="http://archinect.com/news/article/147883279/u-s-says-computers-qualify-as-drivers-in-google-s-autonomous-vehicles-won-t-even-have-to-go-to-the-dmv" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">U.S. says computers qualify as drivers in Google's autonomous vehicles; won't even have to go to the DMV</a></li><li><a href="http://archinect.com/news/article/149947827/google-launches-waze-carpool-with-cost-neutral-pricing" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google launches Waze Carpool with cost-neutral pricing</a></li><li><a href="http://archinect.com/news/article/149946004/google-to-announce-a-voice-activated-smart-home-device" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google to announce a voice-activated, smart home device</a></li></ul>
http://archinect.com/news/article/149941766/on-the-rapid-privatization-of-public-space-in-post-communist-cities
On the rapid privatization of public space in post-communist cities Alexander Walter2016-04-21T15:12:00-04:00>2016-04-21T15:14:22-04:00
<img src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/ap/ap5qk1t96klbts0e.jpg" width="650" height="433" border="0" title="" alt="" /><em><p>From 1917 to 1991 in the former Russian Empire, and from 1945 to 1989 in the countries it dominated after the war, there was no real private ownership. No landowners, no developers, no &ldquo;placemakers&rdquo; - in half of Europe. Did this mean public space was done differently, and are attitudes to it different in those countries? [...] observed more closely, public space here is every bit as complex as it is elsewhere in Europe.</p></em><br /><br /><p>Related stories in the Archinect news:</p><ul><li><a href="http://archinect.com/news/article/149936362/owen-hatherley-on-a-stalinist-city-s-efforts-to-de-communize" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Owen Hatherley on a Stalinist city's efforts to "de-communize"</a></li><li><a href="http://archinect.com/news/article/145193048/the-new-east-is-where-western-starchitect-dreams-come-true-or-turn-into-nightmares" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The New East is where western starchitect dreams come true (or turn into nightmares)</a></li><li><a href="http://archinect.com/news/article/149937679/michael-kimmelman-on-public-squares" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Michael Kimmelman on Public Squares</a></li></ul>
http://archinect.com/news/article/140157923/entrepreneurs-look-to-tackle-austin-s-traffic-woes
Entrepreneurs look to tackle Austin's traffic woes Nam Henderson2015-11-01T12:24:00-05:00>2015-11-02T15:05:13-05:00
<img src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/ry/ryx0jseicconijta.jpg" width="650" height="366" border="0" title="" alt="" /><em><p>*Obviously Austin needs a transit system championed by a game designer.</p></em><br /><br /><p>Back in August, Michael Theis <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2015/08/13/how-a-space-faring-entrepreneur-intends-to-fix.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">highlighted</a> plans by&nbsp;"<em>a few private-sector entrepreneurs &mdash; including some with deep pockets</em>", to address transit needs, especially in Central/downtown Austin. He also&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2015/08/13/how-a-space-faring-entrepreneur-intends-to-fix.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">spoke</a> with&nbsp;spokeswoman Cathy Conley&nbsp;of&nbsp;USA PRT Inc and later <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2015/10/29/austins-futuristic-rapid-transit-podsystem-can.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">attended a presentation</a> where Richard Garriott&nbsp;(CEO) is proposing "<em>a fleet of automated podcars</em>".</p><p>For more info about PRT, read '<a href="http://faculty.washington.edu/jbs/itrans/big/soa2.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Emerging&nbsp;Rapid Transit Technologies Introduction, State of the Art, Applications</a>', from the&nbsp;<em>Proceedings of the AATS conference, Bologna, Italy, 7-8 Nov.2005</em>.</p><p>h/t <a href="https://twitter.com/bruces/status/660554508062351361" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@Bruce Sterling</a></p>
http://archinect.com/news/article/94800738/who-shapes-cities-and-for-whom
Who Shapes Cities and for Whom? Miles Jaffe2014-03-03T12:41:00-05:00>2014-03-10T21:10:39-04:00
<img src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/kl/klc4votysh8qygvx.jpg" width="650" height="295" border="0" title="" alt="" /><em><p>The commercialisation of the urban landscape has resulted in the privatisation of public space. As city centres have become tributes to consumption, private interests have permeated these spaces. They have become awash with pseudo-public consumer spaces which belong to corporations rather than the citizenry. Although these places hold the semblance of being &ldquo;public&rdquo;, they are owned by corporate interests and are therefore under private control and not accountable to the public.</p></em><br /><br /><p>From The New Left Project's series on <a href="http://www.newleftproject.org/index.php/site/discussion_node/the_contemporary_city" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Contemporary City</a>.</p>
http://archinect.com/news/article/91825645/eko-atlantic-privatized-vs-collective-ecological-survival
Eko Atlantic - privatized vs. collective, ecological survival Nam Henderson2014-01-22T10:02:00-05:00>2014-01-22T13:37:38-05:00
<img src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/aw/awodqa4nacs3fexf.jpg" width="650" height="355" border="0" title="" alt="" /><em><p>The disaster capitalists behind Eko Atlantic have seized on climate change to push through pro-corporate plans to build a city of their dreams, an architectural insult to the daily circumstances of ordinary Nigerians.</p></em><br /><br /><p>
Martin Lukacs argues that <a href="http://www.ekoatlantic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eko Atlantic</a>, a new privatized city to be built near Lagos, Nigeria, is the perfect illustration of how the super-rich will exploit the crisis of climate change to increase inequality and seal themselves off from its impacts.</p>
http://archinect.com/news/article/67784286/our-parks-are-not-for-sale
Our Parks Are Not for Sale Nam Henderson2013-02-17T17:15:00-05:00>2013-02-19T13:10:15-05:00
<img src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/rp/rpxmo6yp559mhdnd.jpg" width="650" height="298" border="0" title="" alt="" /><em><p>Community activism that simply nibbles at the edges is not enough. Small-scale rebellions can raise consciousness and help bring needed improvements to cities, but what we really need is a revolution.</p></em><br /><br /><p>
In the Winter 2013 issue of Dissent (the quarterly magazine of politics and ideas), Alex Ulam follows a thread <em>From the Gold Coast of New York to the Venice Biennale</em>.&nbsp;He argues&nbsp; <a href="http://www.spontaneousinterventions.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spontaneous Interventions</a> "<em>was not an outlier at the Biennale</em>" but indicative of a general movement in support of the "Right to the City". Mr. Ulam then lays out a frame, wherein, the fact that many "<em>municipal parks agencies have become charity cases</em>", a new awareness of POPs, plus the continued selling off of corporate naming rights, are all examples of cities "<em>being redesigned to benefit moneyed interests</em>".</p>